6 Reasons to Add a Griddle to Your Outdoor Kitchen

Are outdoor griddles the new charcoal grill? Ever wonder why griddle cooking is the newest outdoor cooking trend? With an increase in outdoor social gatherings, people are investing in all the conveniences of an outdoor kitchen, including the griddle. While griddles aren’t exactly a replacement for the classic grill, they certainly come with a long list of perks that make them the perfect addition to your outdoor kitchen. Griddles are easy to use and come with a lot of efficiency and convenience, making them a top choice for easy outdoor cooking. Griddles offer grillers a flat and smooth cooking surface with varying temperature zones and excellent temperature control. Whether you are adding a griddle top to your existing outdoor grill or buying a separate griddle griller to add to your outdoor kitchen, griddles will give you extra ease and versatility when outdoor cooking. Read on for our top reasons why an outdoor griddle may just be right for you.

One of the best reasons to add a backyard griddle to your outdoor kitchen is because you can cook everything on them. Grills offer the classic black stripes to whatever they cook, but because of the gaps in the grill, you can’t easily cook everything on them. Griddles, on the other hand, are flat and smooth surfaces that offer endless possibilities for outdoor cooking. Having a Sunday brunch party in the backyard? Griddle up pancakes alongside your eggs and bacon seamlessly. Having a pool party? Throw hotdogs and burgers on the griddle. Hosting an evening BBQ? Bring out the steak, mushrooms, and onions to easily cook on the griddle for the same barbeque experience without anything falling through the cracks. Be wary, soon enough you’ll find yourself only cooking outside on your griddle.

While grills are excellent for grilling, griddles offer a lot more flexibility and versatility when it comes to cooking techniques. Griddles are great for searing your meat, chicken, fish, or vegetables without drying them out. Griddles also have a fantastic way of locking in those delicious flavors because the surface is flat and the juices can’t escape or drip away into the coals. This means that all the juices get to infuse the food perfectly, making the griddle a great way to easily flavor your food.

Cooking for a crowd can be an undertaking, but with a griddle, you may find yourself with more cooking surface than you even need. Many backyard griddles come with generous space for grilling, making them ideal for all your outdoor parties where you have many mouths to feed. Griddles come in a range of sizes from the smaller 17" table-top version to larger 36" stand-alone griddles that can cook up everything to feed the party. Imagine being able to cook 70 hot dogs at once! Griddles make serving a party more enjoyable — because who doesn’t love cooking outside — and also much more efficient.

Caring for a griddle is easy and hassle-free. No heavy grills to take off and scrape into a messy pile in the sink. Griddles are easy to clean, and it’s easy to remove any rust from them. When you get your new griddle, be sure to season it correctly with some oil to form a protective coat. To clean, let the griddle cool down sufficiently from cooking. Scrape the surface with a metal spatula or scraper to get off all the bits of food. Wipe down with a paper towel, and you’re ready for tomorrow night’s griddle-cooked dinner. To give it a more thorough clean or to get stuck food off, pour some water onto the griddle while it’s still warm and use a scouring pad to gently clean the surface. When you’re finished, rinse off the water and wipe clean with a paper towel. It’s no wonder people are crazy for griddles when they’re so easy to clean.

Sun, wind, rain, or snow — your griddle works through any weather. Because the griddle runs on propane, it doesn’t die out because of strong winds or other weather conditions, so you can enjoy cooking food on your griddle whenever you want. Also, griddles don’t rely on an open flame, so there’s no need to worry about burners dying when there is moisture in the air or if it’s snowing. Rain or shine, hot or cold, griddles cook anything to perfection anytime.